Tea for Two
by AprilLilypegasi
Summary: The morning of England's birthday comes as sweetly as any other would, birds singing their merry songs as two nations slumber in their bed. A story of France's efforts to make England's birthday perfect.


**Hey, guys! Here's a little something for England's birthday and I just realized that I haven't posted anything on here since Spain's birthday, so oops? I'll try to write more things like this more often so that I have stuff to post here. :P But anyway, hope you enjoy!**

 **I don't own Hetalia :P**

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The morning of England's birthday comes as sweetly as any other would, birds singing their merry songs as two nations slumber in their bed.

When it is time for them to get up, a soft alarm rings from the Frenchman's phone, set to a lower volume than usual in an attempt to allow England a few more hours of sleep.

France smiles before shutting the alarm off, leaning over and pecking England's forehead, crawling out of bed a moment after. "Happy birthday, mon amour." He whispers before leaving the room, England grumbling in his sleep and tugging France's pillow over to him before settling again at the familiar scent.

After getting dressed and ready for the day, France heads down to the kitchen, humming softly as he begins working on a simple, yet delicious, breakfast. He continues to hum as he gracefully moves throughout the kitchen, seeming to dance from place to place instead of walking.

It doesn't take long at all for the food to be finished and he loads it all up onto a tray, along with a small vase of roses, before carrying it upstairs.

"Wake up, Arthur~" He coos as he enters the room, waltzing over to the bed and sitting down, chuckling as his only response is for the Brit to grumble and snuggle closer to the pillow.

"Come on, mon cher, it's time to wake up." France says a little quieter and England shifts a bit more, emerald eyes blinking open sleepily.

This causes France to smile, finding the sight incredibly adorable. "Happy birthday, mon cheri." France says as England sits up, placing the tray in the other's lap.

England glances up at the Frenchman, slight confusion adding to the sleepy look to make him even cuter. The words sink in and he blushes slightly, giving a light smile to the other, "A-ah, thanks, love."

"It was no problem, mon cheri~" France says, leaning over and pecking him on the cheek.

England almost visibly melts at the show of affection, his emerald eyes sparkling a bit as he takes his first bite. He hums softly at the flavor, having always adored whenever France would cook for him.

"It's delicious, love. Will you be joining me?" He asks a bit shyly, causing France to chuckle softly.

"Of course, mon amour." England smiles at this and the two begin eating, no sounds heard but the clinking of silverware and the sounds of them eating.

When they're finished, France takes the plates back to the kitchen, allowing England to get dressed. He starts humming to himself as he cleans the dishes, mentally cataloging what he needs to make for England's surprise.

The sound of England clearing his throat causes him to glance towards the doorway and he freezes in his motions. The Englishman hadn't put on anything too fancy, just a simple jade green vest over a crisp white shirt and dress pants but he still looks amazing in France's eyes.

"You look lovely, cher~" France states, watching with pride as England blushes and stutters out a thank you. "So, what are your plans for today?"

"Ah, nothing too exciting, I'm afraid. I was planning on spending the day reading that new book I just got."

"Zhat sounds relaxing. Why don't you read outside? It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day." France comments as he resumes cleaning the last few dishes before drying his hands and turning to face the other.

"That sounds lovely. Great idea, love." England shoots him a quick smile and France laughs softly.

"I have one question, mon amour. Mind staying out of the kitchen today?" He holds up a hand to interrupt the other's protests, "It's not that I don't want you to cook anyzhing but I'm wanting to work on a surprise for you and I don't want you to see."

"Ah, in that case, I can do that, love." England says, grinning at the other nation before nodding and leaving the room to go grab his book.

France sighs a bit in relief before turning the radio onto his favorite station and looking over the list he made for what he'll be making.

His plan was simple: create a traditional afternoon tea just the way that England likes them. He knows the other nation needs this chance to relax and what better way to do so than to enjoy his favorite beverage along with some finger foods.

He gathers the ingredients for some small cakes, deciding that he can work on a few other things while they're baking and cooling. As usual when he cooks, he allows himself to get lost in the familiarity of his motions, humming lightly to the music playing.

It isn't long until the cakes are in the oven and he smiles, glancing at his list. He still has plenty of time until the time this tea was usually set as it's only a little after eleven in the morning. Afternoon tea is usually set somewhere between three and six so everything should be ready by then.

Time seems to fly by as he works on the sandwiches, picking cucumber sandwiches as he remembers England mentioning how popular they were at this meal. Once they're made he cuts them into triangles and sets them in the fridge to keep them fresh.

He then takes the cakes out of the oven and sets them to the side to cool, smiling at how quickly he's getting all of this done. If he can get the snacks out of the way, then maybe he'll have a little time to decorate the room he's wanting to have this in.

He continues working until it's around lunchtime, finishing up his current project before quickly fixing up a lunch he knows England would like. He brings it out to the garden when he's finished and smiles when he sees the Englishman still absorbed in his book.

"Lunch is ready, mon amour." He says softly to get the other's attention, smiling at the look of affection that graces the other's features.

"Thank you, love. It looks amazing." England says as he bookmarks his page and sets the book to the side.

France smiles fondly at him before handing him his plate and sitting down beside him, them chatting softly as they eat. "Is zhere anyzhing else you would like to do today? It is your birthday after all?" He asks and England tilts his head.

"Not really. This has already been quite a lovely day." France just smiles as he knows his surprise is going to make the day even better but he nods.

"Zhat's good. I hope you don't mind me not spending as much time with you as I usually would...I just want this surprise to be perfect." He admits and England looks at him flattered.

"It's alright, love. Like I said, this has already been a lovely birthday and I bet your surprise will make it even more so." France smiles and nods before taking the other's plate.

"Well, I guess I should get going then. Enjoy your book."

"I will." England says, smiling as the other presses a kiss to the top of his head before heading back inside.

France continues to bake and/or cook the various items on his list before grinning when he checks them all off his list. He quickly checks the time and finds that he still has over an hour to work on fixing up the room and he smiles.

He heads to the drawing room and glances around, heading to the large windows and opening the curtains, flooding the room with light. He smiles, "Zhat's better. Now…" He heads over to the table he had planned to use, putting a fresh tablecloth on it.

A vase of roses mixed with irises is set carefully in the middle and two chairs seated close to each other as he knows they'd both prefer not having to look across the decorations at each other. He gets swept up in making little arrangements to the room, bringing all the snacks down when it's getting close to time.

He then sets a kettle out to boil, heading outside to fetch his English lover. "Arthur! Zhe surprise is almost ready, you can come in now!" He calls out, hearing a quick response as he smiles.

His eyes follow the path of the other through the garden to their patio, him reaching out a hand and taking England's once he gets close enough. "Come on. I hope you will like zhis." He says as he leads the other to the drawing room.

England gasps softly when they enter the room and he turns to look at France, causing the other to watch nervously. "You prepared a traditional afternoon tea for _me_?!"

France nods once, peering at England's emerald eyes, still feeling horribly nervous. He quickly realizes that he needn't be when the other's arms wrap tight around his middle, England resting his head on France's shoulder.

"It's perfect, love. Thank you. This is one of the sweetest things anyone has done for me." He says softly and France relaxes, returning the hug.

The kettle whistles then and he chuckles pulling away, "I guess zhat's zhe tea zhen. Which would you like?"

"Earl grey, please." England says and France nods, heading off to prepare that.

England slowly approaches the table, admiring the decorations and how much effort France put into this to make it as perfect as he could. His eyes are drawn to all the snacks, each one being traditional for an afternoon tea.

"No wonder he needed the kitchen all day…" He mutters softly, feeling touched when he notices that the other even made scones for the occasion, even if those aren't always included at a tea like this.

A little while later, France returns and smiles, setting the tea onto the table, pouring a cup for England and setting in front of him. England just smiles and adds a little sugar to it before taking a sip, sighing contently at the taste.

The two sit down and begin snacking and talking, enjoying the mood set by the setting. Soft music plays in the background and France perks up when he hears what the next song is. He sets his cup of tea down before standing and offering a hand to England.

"May I have this dance?" He asks, smiling at the other. England blushes a bit at the gesture before standing.

"Sure, but only because I like this song." He says, his eyes sparkling playfully and France chuckles.

"Whatever you say, mon amour." England takes his hand and France leads them both to the center of the room, setting his other hand on England's waist.

England grumbles a bit at being in the girl's position but France starts leading the dance and he soon forgets about his problem with it, just enjoying dancing with the other. One song turns to two and two to three, neither of them wanting to separate now that they've started.

Soon it becomes less formal dancing and more them simply swaying side to side, England's head resting on France's chest.

"Thank you for such an amazing birthday…" He says softly, not wanting to break the peace the music is bringing.

"Of course, cher. You deserve it, mon Angleterre." England smiles at his words and they continue to dance in silence.

The rest of the night is spent together, cuddled up and watching movies together, not wanting to leave each other's sides. It couldn't be any more perfect~

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 **Thanks for reading! If you want to see more of my writings, I have a deviantart and a AO3 account under the same name :3 I do Hetalia x Readers as well as a few other fandoms (namely Undertale and Zelda atm) so I hope you'll check it out! ^^**


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